Machine for attaching flap-securing means to envelopes



Dec. 19, 1922. v 1,438,980.

P. F. CHOATE.

' MACHINE FOR ATTACHING FLAP SECURING MEANS T0 ENVELOPES.

FILED AUG-1, 1918. 3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

o 79 I4 j 25 foamy Dec. 19, 1922.

' 1,438,980; P. F. CHOATE. v

MACHINE FOR 'ATTACHING FLAP SECURING MEANS [0 ENVELOPES- FILED AUG-1.1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET Z. I

F f'Zgentov *Dec. 19, 1922. 1,438,980.

. ---P-.-F-. CHOATE.

MA CHINE FOR ATTACHING FLAP SECURING MEANS T0 ENVELOPES.

FILED AUG-1,1918. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Patented Dec. 19, l22.

httdmitx PERCY r. cnoarn, or ononsrnn, ivressacnosnrrs,

ASSIGNGB TO UNITED STATES MAINE.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING FLAP-SECURING MEANS TO ENVELOPES,

Application filed Augustl, 1918. Serial No. 247,790.

To all whom it may concern:

Belt known that I, PERCY citizen of the United States, residlng at lVorcester, in the county of VVorcesterand Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have. 11 1- vented a new and useful Improvement in a Machine for Attaching Flap- Securingv Means to Envelopes, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The present invention relates to machines used in the manufacture of that class of envelopes inwhich the closing flap and the body of the envelope are eachprovided with circular washers or disks, attached thereto by eyelets; to one ofthese disks a cord or string is. secured, with its free end adapted to be wound around the two eyelets and beneath the disks, thereby securely holding the closure flap in closed position over the end of the envelope.

The invention contemplates various new principles of operation in machines of this class, and more particularly in such machines as are designed to attach the closing string or cord to the envelope. linjthisrespect the machine of the present invention embodies certain improvements ot-a basic character in principle of operation overthe machine set forth and described in United States Letters Patent No. 923,602. issued June l. 1909), to W. E. Swift. The invention of. the present application has for one of its objects to render entirely automatic the attachment of? the closing string or cord, simultaneously with the attachment to. the

envelope of the disk or washer to which said. cord is permanently secured, and furthermore, to render entirely automatic the twisting or coiling of said cord beneath said washer, in order to furnish a sufiicient length ot cord to be gripped by the eyelet, when set. @ther and further objects will be apparent as the following description proceeds, reference being had in this connection to the accompanying drawings, wherein' Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a. )lfl-ll view of said machine, certain parts being shown in section.

F 3 is a front view of so much of the F. Cnoarn, a

.machine as is essential to the disclosure of its operative parts.

Fig. 4- is a i plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the string feeding mechanism.

. ig. 5 is. a sectional view, onthe line 5-5 of Fig. at. i

Fig. 6 isa detail view, partly in section, of ,theustring gripping mechanism.

Fig. 7 is aview similar to Fig. 6 showingithe. parts ina different position. Like reference characters refer to like parts. in the different figures.

In the drawings, 1 represents the frameworkof the machine, which supports the various' operative parts hereinafter described, and also provides suitable bearings for aanain driving shaft 2. The shaft 2 is belt driven by a pulley 3, through a onerevolution clutch, not shown, of any desired construction; Inasmuch asthisclutch forms no part or" the present invention, a detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary, it being sufficient to state that it may be op-. erated, at desired intervals, through a treadle or other device commonly employed in machines of thisclass,,to cause the parts to go through single cycle of operations, each time an envelope ispresented in posi-, tion to have a washer and a closing cord simultaneously secured thereto.

The form of machine herein shown contemplates the supplying of washers or disks from a magazine 4;, by mechanism of the same character as is shown and described in United States Letters Patent No. l,l31,8(]5. dated March 16, 1915, and United States Letters Patent-No. 11,274,346, datedJuly 80, 1918, both issued to W; E. Swift. 'This mechanism, which forms no part of the present invention, and henceneed not bodescribed in detail, consists essentially of a washer tube 5, connected at the top with said magazine 4, and'opening at its bottom against a swinging sectorfmember 6, upon which rests the lowermost of the stack of washers carried by said tube. The member 6 is pivoted at 7, Fig. 2, and is oscillated through a link 8 from a cam 9 on h ft '2, as set forth and described in the aforesaid Letters Patent to Swift, Nos.

1331,80?) and 1,274,346, whereby, at each i cycle of operations of the machine, to convey a washer from tube 5 into a position d1- rectly beneath the eyelet-setting plunger of the machine.

F or purposes of illustration, I have shownan eyelet setting mechanism of the same type asis set forth and described in the two aforesaid Letters Patent to Swift, Nos. 1,131,805 and 1,274,376, the same compris- 111g,

neath spring pressed eyelet needle 11, which is adapted to remove the lowermost i eyelet from the chute 10 as the plunger or tion.

set 12 descends. The plungerlQ is actuated' by a lever 13, pivoted at let to the fixed framework, and connected byalrod 15 with a cam 16 on shaft 2, this mechanism being substantially the same as shown in the aforesaid Letters Patent to Swift, and forming of itself no part of the presentinvem The lever 13 is prov ded near 1135' pivot with a segmental gear 17 which transmits rotation to a rock shaft 118, provided with teeth that mesh with those of segmental gear 17. The rock shaft 18 carries an arm 19 that is connected by a link 20 with an agitating device,ysuch as a brush, not

shown, disposedwithin themagazine 4- and operating-to sweep the Washers, with which said magazine is supplied, into the top of tube 5, in a manner similar to that employed in prior machines of this class.

In combination with the well known washer handling and eyelet setting devices above described, the machine of the present invention provides instrumentalities adapted for the handling of a suitable string or cord, in such a manner that coincidentlv with the affixing of the washer, by means of the eyelet to the material of the envelope,

the cord will be securely attached and twisted or coiled beneath the washer, and then automatically out off to a predetermined length. As herein shown, these cord handling devices consist essentially of a cord feeding mechanism which draws the cord intermittently from a supply reel 21, a cord gripping mechanism which draws the cord a predetermined distance through'a previously formed opening in the material of the envelope, and a cord twisting mechanism whichimparts a coil or turn to the cord just previous to the completion of the eyeletsetting operation which sever's said cord.

"The cord, which is unwound from a continous supply or spool carried by the reel 21, is preferably fed downwardly through a tube 22 passing through the center of said reel, and thence upwardly in a straight line, as indicated at-23, through a hollow guide member 241. The guide member 22 1 delivers the cord to a pairof cooperating feed rollers 25 and which preferably have serrations 'on their peripheries toprevent slippage of essentially, an eyelet chute 10 with its lower end in positionto hold an eyelet bethe cord. The feed roller 25 is carried on a shaft 2?, which is suitably journalled in a fixed supportingmember 28, the latter also carrying the guide tube 24. Said shaft 22'? carries on one end a gear 29,-which is constantly in mesh with a larger gear 30 having an integral ratchet wheel 51. Concentrio with said gear 30 and ratchet wheel 31,

but capable of" relative movement with respect thereto, is a. rocking arm- 82 carrying a pawl 33 adapted to engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel. The arm 32 is connected by a link 34, Fig. 1, with a bell crank lever 35, one endof which is actuated by a cam 36 on shaft 2. A complete rotation of shaft 2 thus effects, through the pawl and ratchet connection above described, an intermittent rotation of the feed roller 25, with alternate periods of rest when said roller is stationary. I p

The shaft 27 of roller 25 carries a pair of similar cams 37, 37, the raised portions of I which are adapted to make contact with correspondingly located disks 38, on the fshaft 89 of feed roll 26; Thisshaft 39 is scribed. v

Beyond the feed rolls 25 and 26 the cord is threaded through a fixed guide tube 11,

and thence upwardly through a registering aperture 1-2 through the center of a gear 4-3, the latter having a downwardly projecting neck or hub 4.4: by which it is join-nailed for rotation in the supporting memljier 28. As shown, in Fig. 5,'said neck ll has a groove 15 which is engagedby the end of a set screw ac, to prevent axial displacement of the gear 413 while still permitting its rotation. The gear 13 carries a hollow needle 17, having a side opening 18 for the exit of the cord 23, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The

hollow needle 47 constitutes, as hereinafter described, the fixed or anvil member of the eyelet setting mechanism, forcooperation with the plunger 12 and eyelet needle 11, and serves as'a device for locating the flap of theenvelope in proper position for the washer and cord aihxing operations, said needle bemg'entered through the previouslyfor'med hole in said flap.

F or drawing the cord through the side opening 48 of hollow needle 47, after the re lease of said cord by the feed rolls and, 26, the machine of the present invention e eee a provides a reciprocating cord gripping and r,

pulling mechanism, which consists essentially of a horizontally slidingmember 19., Figs. 6 and 7, said member being movable in ways provided by the fixed framework. The member 49' is pivotally connected by a link 51, Fig. 1, with a rocker arm 52,.the latter having near its center of oscillation 53 a gear segment 5 1 which isin mesh with a similar segment 55 on anarm 56 of a bell cranl; lever, pivoted at 57. The

other arm 58 of said bellerank lever car the cord between said serrated gripping portions 65, 65, the ensuing rearward movement of sliding member 1-9 under the influence of cam 60,,will draw a sufficient length of cord through the opening 18 to provide the desired fastening for the envelope.

The operation of the, movable gripper jaw 63 is accomplished by means of a lever 66,

secured to the pivot pin 62 0f said jaw. One

end of said lever carries a cam roll 67,,which 1s yieldingly pressed upwardly by a spring 68 secured to the other end of said lever.

The cam roll 67 is adapted to cooperate with an elongated cam surface provided by a rocking member 69, theflatter being. pivoted atTO, Fig. 7, to a bracket 70 carried by the fixed framework. Said rocking member 69 is adapted to be moved intermittently through a small. are by means of a link 71, which c011 nects it to a bell crank 7 2 thatjis actuated by a cam 78 on shaft 2. In the. position of the parts shown in Fig. 1, which represents the normal condition of themaehine at either the commencement or the conclusion of a single cycle of operations, the gripper members 61 and 63 are separated, but are at some dis.- tance fromthe hollow needle 41-7. .When a cycle of operations is started, the endof the cord is fed through the opening 18 bythe action of the feed rolls 25 and 26, and simultaneously therewith the member 1-9 moves sharply forward, under the influence of the sharply inclined portion 74 of cam 60, so as to carry the jaws 61 and 63 into theposition illustrated by Fig. 6. As soon as this-position is reached, the cam 78 causes an elevation of rocking member 69, thus permitting the jaw 63 to close, under the influence of spring 68, so that the ensuing rearward movement of member 4-9 will draw the cord through opening 4:6, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The rearward inovementof member earries the jaws intov the position. illustrated by dotted lines. 61 and 63 in Fig. 1, a sufficient, distance to provide for several inches of cordv oneach envelope, and before the member 41;? returns to its forward position, the rocking member 69 is lowered into the position shown in Fig. 1, sothat the contaetof cam roll 6? therewith will cause the elevation of aw 63 and the rele'ase of the cord at the proper time. j j

The drawing out of the cord by gripper jaws 61 and 63, as above described, is preced' ed by the release ofsaid cord from the feed rolls 25 and 26,which, it will be understood, have served to project the end of the cord through opening as at the commencement of the cycle of operations. This operation carries the end of the cord through the opening in the flap of the envelope, which has pre viously been placed over the hollow needle 47, asshown at 75, Figs. 6 and 7. As the plunger 12 and needle 11 thereafter descend, carrying with them a washer and eyelet for attachment to said flap .75, the hollow needle 1 47 is rotated, so as to impart a turn or loop to the cord of sufficient lengthto insure its retention between the material of the flap and the superposed washer when the eyelet is set. To this end the gear 13 is in mesh with a segmental rack 7 6, carried by a bell crank lever 77 which is pivoted at 78 t0 the fixed framework. Said lever is operated through a link 79, which is connected to a bell crank 60 that is. actuated by. a suitable cam 81 on shaft 2. Justprior to the attachment ofthe washer to the flap 75., and while the cord. 23

remains drawn to the limit of its rearward movement by jaws 61 and 63, the gear l3 is rotated, as above described, totwist the cord the required distance around the hollow needle 17. The subsequent complete descent. of the plunger 12 projects the eyelet through the opening in thellap and spreads it so as to secure the washer thereto, in the manner wellv known in. eyelet settling; machines of this class. The twisted portion of the cord lying between the washer and the material, of the lap affords sufficient material to be firmly seized and compressed by the eyelet setting operation, and anincident to this operatiomthe cord is cutoff and severed by the lower edge of opening &8 when the lower endof the descending eyelet is forced past said edge. In other words, the cord is out between the edge of the opening and the edge of the eyelet, just before the latter is upset. j

The gripping mechanism remains at the limit of its rearward movement,- as illustrated by'the dotted lines 49, 61 and 63, Fig. 1, during the above described twisting operation of the cord, and preferably the op erating cam 60 of said gripper mechanism is so shaped as to interpose a short dwell at this point in the movement of the gripping mechto the flap or" the next envelope that is anism, during which dwell the twistingtakes imined length from said supply of cord,

place. Thecordis thus held stationary and under tension by said gripping mechanism, and consequently the twisting of said cord is under the influence of the drag or resistance imposed by the unwinding of the cord from the reel or spool 21; as before stated, the cord at this time is free from the action of the feed rollers 25 and 26, andhence the operation of twisting is carried out under the most advantageous conditions. 7

Just as soon as the twisting is completed, the cams 37, which have been operative to hold the feed rollers 25 and 26 apart during the twisting operation, roll off of the disks 38, and thus allow said feed rolls to come together again at the finish of the operative H stroke ofpawl 33. The cord therefore is seized again in the bite of rollers 25 and 26 just before it is severed by the completion of the eyelet setting operation, and hence said cord is kept always under control, being thus disposed in position to be projected by said feed rolls outwardly through the needle 47 at thecommencement of the next cycle of operations of the machine, for attachment presented. It will therefore be seen that in the operation of the'feeding rolls and 26 there .is first a feeding of thecordby said'rolls, then a separation of said rolls, correspond-.

m in duration substantial]. to theretraction plus the dwell of the gripping mechanism, and finally a bringing together of said rolls to pinch the string again, without however feeding'it, these three phases of operation occurring 1n each operative stroke of the pawl 33. To insure stoppage of the parts at the endof each cycle of operation, a' suit- 40' able braking device is preferably employed consisting as here shown of a leaf sprlng 82 which cooperates with a fiat surface 83 of a roller 84, which is secured to the shaft 27. I cla m,

1. A. machine oithe class described, comprising, in combination, the following instrumentahties:--a :feechng means operable on a supply orfcord, to project the end Oil. said cord between a washer and an artlcle,

means for gripping the end of said cord as projected by said feeding means,'and for drawing it to a predetermined position, means for imparting a loop or-turn to the portion of the cord lying between said washer and said article while thecord is held under tension by saidlgripping means,

and means for setting an eyelet to secure the looped portion of said cord and said washer to said article. i,

2. In a machine for attaching a washer and a cord to an article-by an eyelet, a feeding means forprojecting the end of a sup ply of cord, a gripping means adapted to seize said end upon the release of said cord by said feeding means, means for moving said gripping means to draw out a predeterofcord, a gripping means adapted to seize said end upon the release of said cord by said feeding means, means, for movingsaid gripping means to draw out a predetermined length from said supply of 00rd,. means for lmparting a loop or turn to a portion of said cord as held under tension during a period of dwell in the movement of said gripping means, and means for setting an'eyelet, to sever said cord and secure said looped portion, together with a washer, to an article. j I

4. a machine of the class described, a pair of cooperating rolls for feeding the end of a supply of cord, gripping means adapted to seize said end, means for separating said rolls upon the seizure of said cord by said gripping means, means for imparting aloop or turn to portion of said cordas held under tension by said gripping means, said'sep arating means permitting re-engagement of said cord by said rolls 'af tersaid loop has and rlOlCllDg itunder tenslon, means tor 1mparting a turn or loop to the portion of the cord that is to be secured by theleyelet to the article, and a feeding means adaptedto engage said cord before'it eyelet setting mechanisi'n.

6, In a machine of the class described, the combination with eyelet setting mechanism adapted tosever. a cord and secure it, together with a washer, toan article, of grip is cut oil by said ping means forv drmving out the end of asupply of cord and holding it under tension,

means for imparting a loop or turn to. the cord during a perlod of dwell in the movement of-said gripping means, and means for engaging said cord on the other side olsaid loop or turn before the severance of said cord by said eyelet setting mechanism.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with eyeletsetting mechanism for attaching a washer to an article by means of an eyelet, of means for feeding a cord,

and means, operable upon the release of said cord by said feeding means, for disposing a portion thereoef in substantially concentric relation tothe eyelet, to be gripped'when said eyelet 1S set.

8. In a machlne of the class described, the

p to an article, of means 3 for drawing out the end of a supply of'cord ill] in substantially concentric relation to the 1 eyelet, to be gripped. thereby when said eyelet is set.

Dated this 30th day of July, 1918.

PERCY F. GHOATE.

Witnesses PENELOPE COMBERBAOH, Gno. H. KENNEDY, J r. 

